


Confessions

by Rosa52



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-18
Updated: 2016-08-22
Packaged: 2018-08-09 15:14:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7806823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosa52/pseuds/Rosa52
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Campaign crushes revealed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Oh, come on,” Chris laughed, shaking her short blonde hair out of her eyes. “Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed. Look, I’ve got a guy waiting in DC, love him to death, but we’ve been bouncing from hayseed town to hayseed town for months, and there’s nothing to do but appreciate the scenery. Thompson’s 25 and fine. Admit it.” Chris raised an expectant brow at the rest of the women at the booth, drinking her beer without dropping the challenge. Katie, a veteran reporter for the Times, broke first. Laughing, she conceded, “Yeah, I notice every once in a while. But not Thompson. He’s not my type. I started paying attention when the photographer from the Globe joined the campaign – you know, what’s his name, the beardy one?” Halfway through her second whiskey ginger, CJ couldn’t believe she was even joining the conversation, but what the hell. She knew his name. With a slow half smile, she offered, “Joseph Fitzgerald?” “Thaaat’s the one,” Katie nodded with a satisfied smirk. “Beautiful kid, you know? And when he wears the right jeans…” Katie paused for a moment, then decided to go for it. What the hell, she thought, they were so deep in Nebraska that the rules couldn’t possibly apply, and they were all a few drinks down. “What about you, CJ?” she asked. “Chris and I have been around these guys so long that we barely even notice half of them, but you’ve got fresh eyes.” CJ laughed, low and warm. “Hell no,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m not falling for this.” “Off the record!” Katie cried, feigning hurt. “Yeah, come on,” Chris teased. “Strictly between us. Be a sport.” CJ just laughed, signaling for another drink. “Fine,” Chris said, changing course. “Donna? You don’t have anything to lose. Who’s your eye candy of choice?” Donna choked on her vodka soda and CJ rolled her eyes. “Come on, Donna, you had to see that coming,” she sighed. Donna started to look wounded, but then she noticed CJ’s teasing grin. “I don’t know the press corps like you guys do,” she protested. “They’re hardly the only men on the campaign,” Chris challenged, unfazed by Donna’s attempt to duck the question. “You’ve noticed somebody. Give it up.” “I honestly thought I was going to get away with just listening,” Donna muttered. Just when it looked like she was going to admit defeat, though, inspiration struck. “I’ll tell if CJ does,” Donna countered smugly, figuring that would be the end of it. CJ, having just finished her third whiskey, was staring at the bar with a slight smile. When she heard what Donna said, she jerked with surprise, then turned to pin Donna with an appraising stare. “ _Donnatella Moss_ ,” she said with grudging respect, “Good defense.” She paused and looked back at the bar with a considering stare. “Am I going to let you get away with it, though…?”

Sitting at the bar, Danny knew full well that he probably shouldn’t be listening in on this, but it was just too entertaining to pass up. Besides, he’d already heard Chris and Katie mooning over the young reporters on the press bus. Hell, everybody had. He was just enjoying listening to the friendly sparring match, teasing himself with the prospect of hearing which reporter the new press secretary had a crush on. Not that she was going to answer, he figured. She was too cagey for that. He kept one eye on the mirror behind the bar, watching the conversation unfold, trying to seem casual without missing a word.

“Yeah, you’re going to let me get away with it,” Donna said triumphantly, flicking her hair back. “You’re the press secretary. Your crushes are news.” Damn right they were, Danny silently agreed. Hell, he’d buy a paper to find out who CJ had her eye on. She had great eyes, he thought, looking down into his drink. Great legs, great… whole package, he decided. Every damn thing about her. He signaled the bartender for a beer, chuckling to himself. Breaking news: he’d figured out who he liked looking at. The bartender handed him his drink and Danny nodded his thanks, tuning back in to the conversation behind him.

“I bet I could find some reporters interested in writing about who Donna Moss has the hots for,” CJ challenged. “Hell, I should start a pool, add a little entertainment to the tour.” “I think gambling’s illegal wherever we are,” Donna said drily. “Besides, if you start a pool, I start a pool.” Chris perked up. “I’m in,” she said with a grin. “Oh, hell yeah,” Katie agreed. “I want in on both of these bets. Let’s make the bus a rolling casino.” “I’m not going down for leading a rolling house of sin through America’s heartland,” CJ returned. “Now that would be interesting,” Chris responded with an exaggerated leer. CJ snorted. “Imagine the headlines.” CJ chuckled, enjoying the thought. Feeling loose and warm from the whiskey, she glanced aimlessly at the copper-haired man relaxing at the bar, back turned to her. “What the hell,” she said softly. Chris looked at her expectantly while Katie’s face changed from mild confusion to an eager grin. “No formal pool,” CJ said, trying to sound stern. “And off the record. But let’s hear your best guess. If you’re right, I’ll admit it.” “And if we’re wrong?” Chris challenged. CJ sighed. “Maaaybe I’ll tell you. And we’re guessing Donna, too.”

Danny couldn’t stop his brows from flying up. That was unexpected, he had to acknowledge. CJ had a sense of humor, sure, but she was always a professional. As he started considering who he would pick in the pool, he caught himself frowning into his beer. Probably… well, she didn’t seem too enthusiastic about Fitzgerald when Katie brought him up, so not him. And if she didn’t like Fitzgerald, that probably also got rid of McCann. She hadn’t said anything about Thompson, but Thompson was still a strong contender. Pretty boy, Danny thought with light contempt, surprising himself. Maybe Gaines? He hoped not. Gaines was… tall, dark, and striking, sure, but an asshole. Philips was old, but maybe she was into silver foxes. Danny considered his choices, trying to think of anyone else he should include. At some point, eavesdropping on this particular conversation had gotten less fun, he noted. Maybe he was just tired – or maybe, his brain suggested mockingly, you’re about to hear something you’re not going to like. Danny gave a little irritated huff. So he liked looking at CJ, fine. And he liked talking to her. And listening to her talk to other people. She could like whoever she wanted. He was man enough to handle that. Unless it was Gaines, but… No, even Gaines. As Danny crankily tried to make his pick, CJ downed the rest of her drink, raising a brow at the other women. “So?” she asked archly, letting the syllable hang.

“Fitzgerald,” Katie said immediately. CJ smiled and shook her head. At the bar, Danny rolled his eyes. Waste of a guess. Chris hesitated, then leaned in, whispering in Donna’s ear. “No colluding!” CJ scolded. “Hey, she doesn’t know the press pool,” Chris argued. “No point in her wasting her guess.” “Who says my guy’s in the press pool?” CJ challenged. “I do,” Chris said promptly. “…Yeah, all right,” CJ conceded. “Fine. Who’s your pick?” “I won’t be as boring as Katie and just foist my crush on you. I say… Gaines.” CJ shook her head again, and Danny felt a light wave of relief. “He’s kind of…” “What?” Chris asked. “We’re not off the record enough for that,” CJ demurred. “But it’s not him. All right, Donna, let’s hear Chris’ second suggestion.” “I was going to go with it,” Donna began, “but really, it just seems too… obvious.” “Hey!” Chris interjected. “Thompson’s smokin’, and anyone who says otherwise is lying.” “No, I get it,” Donna argued, “But I don’t think that’s my bet.” Chris pouted, but Katie seemed to consider it. “I can see that,” she said slowly. “Well, there’s Philips. He’s older, but he’s still got it.” “Do you like older guys, CJ?” Donna asked. CJ laughed. “I’m not helping you with this,” she began, but then relented. “Not as, like, a category. I mean, if I like an older guy, I like him, but it’s not something I look for.” “Younger guys?” “Even less likely.” “Oh, come on, CJ, just tell us.” Danny couldn’t tell which one of the women had lost patience with the guessing, but he couldn’t blame her. “What about Donna?” CJ deflected. Chris and Katie responded flatly, practically in unison, “Josh.” CJ sighed, a little deflated. “Yeah,” she agreed. “Josh.” “What?” Donna exclaimed. “I mean… Sam’s… cute…” her voice trailed off. They’d nailed it. “I’m predictable, I guess,” she sighed into her vodka soda. “That’s all right, sweetheart,” Katie said briskly. “He’s got a nice ass.” Danny snickered, too invested in the conversation to worry about staying under the radar. Chris didn’t even bother to soothe Donna’s pride. “Give it up, CJ,” she insisted, “or I’ll start guessing what you were going to say about Gaines.” At some point, CJ had flagged down another whiskey. She took a healthy swallow, considered, and nodded. “Fair enough.” Danny, unwilling to miss the big reveal, turned around to watch the finale unfold. CJ, staring down at her whiskey with a soft half smile, didn’t appear to notice.

“I was going to say that Gaines is kind of a prick,” she said calmly. Danny had to hold back a triumphant laugh. _Well played_ , _CJ_ , he thought, figuring she would cap it off at that. But CJ, still smiling into her drink, wasn’t done speaking. "And Danny Concannon,” she continued, looking up. There was a glimmer of shock when her eyes met Danny’s, but his own surprise was so acute that he barely registered hers. As if she couldn’t stop herself, CJ finished the thought. “Danny Concannon in blue.”


	2. Decisions

Danny couldn’t quite breathe. Somehow, the other women at CJ’s booth didn’t seem to have realized that he was right there. Chris and Katie were staring at each other in obvious shock, sputtering; Donna’s attention was clearly focused on CJ, and CJ’s eyes were locked on his. He hadn’t anticipated the rush of adrenaline he’d felt when CJ had said his name, hadn’t expected getting exactly what he hadn’t dared to want to feel quite so much like getting kicked by a horse. Even so, he knew he was smiling; he couldn’t have held that smile back if he’d tried. There was a pang of loss when she broke their eye contact to handle the storm she’d kicked up at her table, but it eased as Danny leaned back against the bar to watch her work.

“ _Danny_?” Katie asked incredulously, forcing CJ to look away from the man in question. The look on Katie’s face was so comical that it was almost worth it. “CJ, we didn’t ask which reporter you could _marry_. Or which one you could trust to raise your kids, or execute your will, or give you bad news compassionately. Because all of those things, Danny Concannon, absolutely. In blue or otherwise. But we’re talking about _idle lust_ , CJ. Was that unclear?” “Damn,” Donna murmured. “That’s quite an endorsement.” “But it’s an endorsement of the _wrong things_ ,” Katie insisted. “We weren’t talking about inner beauty.” “Look,” CJ began, trying not to laugh at the absurdity of it all, but Chris jumped in. “Nobody’s trying to say Danny’s... _homely_ or anything,” Chris added soothingly, shooting Katie a warning glance, “Just that we wanted a purely physical evaluation.” An edge of actual annoyance crept into CJ’s voice at the interruption. “ _Look_ ,” she said again, this time more forcefully, “ _He does it for me_. In blue or otherwise. You asked who I like looking at and I told you. If you think I don’t know what turns me on, you’re wrong. It just so happens that the guy I like looking at is also someone I like talking to. And apparently someone I could trust to do my taxes, or whatever the hell Katie was talking about.” “Well, I can’t vouch for his math,” Katie teased, a ghost of a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. “But the trust part, sure. Yeah.” Looking somehow both delighted and shell-shocked, Chris dug a twenty out of her purse. “I’ve gotta go process this,” she said with a grin. “See you on the bus. You coming, Katie?” Before Katie could get up, CJ hit both reporters with a killing stare. “If I read about this in the morning…” she began, not bothering to finish the threat. Chris sent her a cheeky salute, then walked out the door, Katie close behind.

Once the two reporters were gone, CJ finally felt like she could look back at the bar. She couldn’t tell if she was disappointed or relieved when Danny was nowhere to be seen. She blew out a breath, straightening her shoulders as she headed to the bar to settle her tab. Even after she’d paid up, she lingered near the door. The warmth of the whiskey had faded under the weight of her exhaustion, and she couldn’t muster much enthusiasm for another night in a vaguely dingy hotel, followed by at least a week of not looking Danny in the eye. Pulling her coat on in the dim glow of the bar’s neon sign, CJ sighed, closing her eyes against the sting of bone-deep weariness. “Hey,” came a now-familiar voice. Taking a deep breath, CJ opened her eyes to see Danny leaning against the wall, wearing an expression she couldn’t quite read. “Hey,” she responded. CJ hesitated; just as Danny seemed about to speak, she decided she should jump in and take control of how this conversation would go. “ _I_ , ah… I don’t know how much of my conversation you overheard. Enough, probably. But, what I want to make clear is – I don’t want you to _worry_ that…” _Stop babbling_ , CJ hissed at herself. “Danny, I… What I said in the bar was unprofessional, and I’m sorry if it made you uncomfortable in any way. I don’t want to make the campaign a harder place for you to do your job, and so if –“ Danny didn’t want to hear the rest. Well, he kind of did - it sounded like CJ was about to offer to accommodate his every need to make up for her indiscretion, and he would have loved to know what she would have been willing to give him, but he couldn’t stand here and watch her beat herself up.

“What if it didn’t make me uncomfortable?” CJ’s wide, beautiful mouth snapped shut. Danny stifled a grin at the blank look on her face. “What if I don’t feel like what you said affects my work environment? Because I appreciate your concern, CJ, but I really don’t think it does." “Danny, I’m the _press secretary_. You’re a _reporter_. It absolutely _does_ affect your work environment." “Were you going to deny me access, ignore my questions because you have a crush on me?” CJ heaved an irritated sigh. “Of _course_ not, Danny, but that’s not the _point_ , it’s –“ “Of course not. You’re a professional. And were you going to give me _more_ access because you have a crush on me?” CJ was full-on glaring at him now, and he wasn’t sure what it said about him that he found her murderous expression comforting. “ _No, Danny._ ” “Of course not. I’m a senior reporter from a major national newspaper, and you give me the kind of access that comes with my position. Because you’re a professional.” “So what you’re saying is, you’re… _OK_ with what I said. You don’t feel like it’s going to be more difficult for you on the campaign trail.” “That’s exactly what I’m saying. And I’d like to say more. I’d like to say that while what I overheard tonight didn’t affect my ability to cover the campaign at all, it _did_ change the non-work aspects of the campaign for me. For the better. It made me hopeful, CJ, because… because, ah, I’ve got a crush of my own.” Danny paused, waiting for CJ to look up and meet his eyes. “On you, if that was unclear.” Silence. CJ looked absolutely dumbfounded. It made him want to kiss her. Well, he almost always wanted to kiss her, but especially now. The silence stretched between them, and Danny couldn’t force himself to wait for her to speak up, especially since there was a good chance that, no matter what she might _want_ to say, CJ would end the discussion right there. “I, ah, thought that maybe we could… explore that a little in our free time. Which I know you don’t have much of, but…” CJ’s mouth was literally hanging open. Suddenly nervous, Danny kept going. “And just to be clear, I – I don’t mean… I’m not trying to suggest a campaign fling or… you know. Unless that’s all you want, I, ah, I guess. I meant just, maybe, you know spending time together. Getting pie or a beer together on purpose sometimes. And… I mean, I, for the record, am not _at all_ opposed to… I would like to kiss you. Just – to make sure that’s clear. Kiss you and… y'know. I just didn’t want you to think I didn’t want to, but I don’t want you to feel pressured, or think that’s all that I want, or –“

Was she _laughing_? She was. That… might be good? That was definitely better than walking away. CJ stepped forward and rested her forehead on his shoulder. Instinctively, Danny curved an arm around her waist; she didn’t pull away, and he felt a flush of triumph. “I’m so glad I’m not the only one who’s nervous,” she said quietly. He felt her smile against his chest and couldn’t help but smile in return. “I… Danny, I want to say yes. But it isn’t just your work environment that I have to be worried about. If you and I… explored this in our free time, it might make things difficult with the rest of the press corps. You know and I know that I wouldn’t give you more or less access for, you know, personal reasons, but… I have to worry about what they would think, about what that impression would mean for Governor Bartlet’s campaign.” “I think they’d figure out that you like the way I look in blue,” Danny retorted, not ready to give up yet. “I like the way you look in blue and otherwise,” she said quietly, “but that’s not something the rest of the press corps should know.” Danny would have kept arguing, but something in her voice warned him not to press too far. Instead, he stroked a hand over her hair, luxuriating in the feel of her in his arms. “Does that mean I have to stop looking at you? Because I don’t want to. And I’d like to make it as clear as I can that, even if we can’t act on it, I like the idea of you looking at me. And my invitation for pie or a beer still stands. Really, you’re invited to anywhere I am.” CJ let out a soft laugh. “I think… I think we can keep looking. I don’t want to give that up, either. And I think beer or pie… we could try it. I like you, Danny. I like looking at you and I like being around you.” To his surprise, he felt CJ’s arms around his waist, hugging him for just a moment before she stepped back. Without thinking, he blurted out, “Do you want to take a walk?” Surprised, CJ considered the suggestion. It was late, it was freezing, they were in Nebraska – and she really, _really_ did. “Yeah,” she replied with a half-smile. As they exited the bar, she caught Danny’s hand, giving it a brief squeeze. A half-beat later, he caught her hand and held it. When she quirked a brow and pinned him with a challenging stare, he mustered up his most innocent look. “For warmth,” he argued. “And… safety.” “Safety?” CJ smirked. Danny doubled down. “Safety. One of us could slip on the ice, or be beset by bison, or –“ “So this way we both go down?” “Can you imagine anything more depressing than being gored by a bison all by yourself?” CJ’s laughter, big as the prairie sky, hung shimmering in the freezing air. Tightening his grip on her hand, Danny smiled to himself. Maybe they couldn’t have everything – not yet. But they could have this.


End file.
